Brown Dominates Fourth Quarter For 35-28 Comeback Win Over Dartmouth

Hanover, New Hampshire – Senior quarterback Joe Springer rallied Brown from a 28-17 late third quarter deficit to lead the Bears to a 38-28 come-from-behind Ivy League victory over Dartmouth in a thrilling game in front of a national television audience at Memorial Field. Brown's game –winning score came on a two-yard plunge by sophomore Mark Kachmer with 1:22 left on the game.

The win assures the Bears of a winning Ivy record with a 4-2 league mark, 5-4 overall, while Dartmouth drops to 5-4 overall, 2-4 in the Ivy League.

"This was a great comeback win for our team" said an ebullient Brown head coach Phil Estes," something we needed coming into next week's season finale against Columbia. I really likes the resolve of our team after falling behind by 11 points."

For the second straight week, big plays hurt the Bears, with two Dartmouth third quarter scores over 60 yards, one a 62 yard pass play, and the second a 76 yard punt return for a touchdown, that gave Dartmouth an 11 point lead, 28-17, with 3:01 left in the quarter.

Brown stopped the Big Green rally when freshman Alexander Norocea booted his second field goal of the day, this time a 37-yard kick with 38 seconds left in the third quarter.

Trailing 28-20 in the fourth quarter, Springer helped the Bears tie the game, 28-28, with 12:45 remaining, on a 30-yard touchdown pass to senior Alexander Tounkara. He followed that up with a two-point conversion pass to Tellef Lundevall to knot the score.

Brown's defense stepped up on a Dartmouth fourth and one at the Bears' 40 yard line. Senior Phil Roffi tackled Dartmouth tailback Nick Schweiger for a one yard loss, giving Brown's offense an opportunity to win the game.

Springer marched the Bears 59 yards on eight plays with Kachmer diving into the end zone from the two yard line to lift the Bears to a 35-28 lead with just 1:22 left on the clock.

Springer finished the day with 281 passing yards and three touchdowns after completing 22 of 42 passes. Senior wide receiver Alex Tounkara led all receivers with six receptions for 108 yards, while junior Jimmy Saros made five catches for 62 yards.

Defensively, Bears' senior safety Stephen Peyton made 10 tackles and an interception, while senior linebacker Chimso Okoji chipped in with six total hits.

Brown got on the scoreboard first following a short Big Green punt and a 17-yard return by freshman Emory Polley to the Big Green 33-yard line.

Seven plays later, Brown scored on an 11-yard pass from Springer to senior tight end Alex Prestley, who made a one hand catch at the goal line to give the Bears a 7-0 lead with 6:54 left in the first quarter.

Following an interception by Peyton, Brown extended its lead to 10-0 with a 44 yard field goal by Norocea with 2:08 left in the opening quarter.

The Big Green got back in the game with a strong running attack. On the first play of the second quarter, Schweiger scored on a five yard run to pull the Big Green to within 10-7 of the Bears.

Brown extended its lead to 17-7 when Springer tossed his second touchdown pass of the game, this time a three-yard pass to Saros with 1:15 left in the half to cap a 44-yard scoring drive.

Dartmouth, who had trailed at the half in every game this season, drove 67 yards in eight plays on the opening possession of the second half, pulling to within 17-14 of the Bears on a one yard run by Schweiger at the 11:37 mark.

The Big Green grabbed their first lead following a little razzle-dazzle. Big Green quarterback Conner Kempe tossed a lateral swing pass to Schweiger, who spotted a wide open Scott Tanner streaking down the sideline for a 62 yard touchdown to give the Big Green the lead, 21-17.

Lightning struck once again when Dartmouth's Shawn Abuhoff made an over-the shoulder catch of a punt and returned it 76 yards for a touchdown to give Dartmouth a 28-17 lead late in the third quarter.

Schweiger, who became a 1,000 yard runner Saturday afternoon, finished the game with 86 yards on the ground and four receptions for 43 yards.

Brown wraps-up its 2010 season by hosting Columbia on Saturday, November 20th. Brown's 26 seniors will be honored in pre-game ceremonies. Game time is 12:30 p.m. at Brown Stadium.